Blood match
by con14
Summary: An old enemy of Simba has returned and is looking for revenge, and now Simba is going to have to put his fear aside in order to face him, save his home and protect his loved ones.
1. Chapter 1

**Surprise**

It was an average day in the Pride lands, the lions were hunting, gazelle were grazing and the birds were flying; speak of the devil it appears that a certain red-billed hornbill named Zazu is surveying the area for something important. Apparently he had been informed of a rogue lion hunting and killing the animals of the Pride lands and he is going to investigate. While he was flying, he noticed something below him and landed to get a closer look and apparently he found what he was looking for, because he was looking at the back of the lion as he was feasting on an antelope.

"Excuse me sir, you are in restricted hunting grounds and I must ask you to leave." He said politely.

The lion paid no attention to him and just kept eating the poor animal that was in front of him.

"Sir, I'm speaking to you, would you mind turning around please?" He asked a little annoyed.

Again he paid no mind to the bird and continued to eat and Zazu was getting a little mad.

"Now listen pal, I'm talking to you, you are in the domain of king Simba, and I'm here to tell you to get out!" He yelled.

The instant the name _Simba_ reached his ears, the lion sat up, showing Zazu his impressive stature.

"Simba?" He said with a low menacing growl.

"Um, yes, he is the king of these lands, and you are trespassing upon them." Zazu said a little scared of the lion's size.

Then instantly the lion turned around and grabbed Zazu with his claws and Zazu were horrified by the sight of his menacing face; he blood red eyes, a large jaw full of razor sharp teeth and sinister scowl that almost made him faint.

"What about Simba?" He asked bearing his teeth.

"S…Simba is the king of Pride Rock and of the Pride lands." Zazu answered obviously terrified.

"So that's what he's been up to for so long." He said to himself then he turned back to Zazu.

"Okay listen birdie, fly back to Pride Rock and tell Simba that Makto is in the neighborhood and that I'm ready for the rematch!" He said.

He then released Zazu and he quickly flew back to Pride Rock to give Simba the news.

Back at Pride Rock, the king Simba sat at the ledge to better observe his kingdom, he still remembers the day he came back, defeated Scar and returned it to its former glory.

"Now this is perfect." He said admiring the Pride lands.

"Simba, are you out here?" Nala asked.

Simba smiled when he heard her voice, the very sight of her makes him happy because she is the love of his life and the mother of his child.

"I'm over here Nala." He answered.

"There you are," She said and she gave him a quick nuzzle.

"Have you seen Kiara or Kovu, I can't seem to find them." She said worried.

"No, and honestly I'm worried about what could happen." He said.

"Don't worry Simba; ever since we made peace with the Outsiders, nothing seems to be causing problems." She explained.

"I know, but I'm worried what those two can do…alone." Simba said.

"Relax, I'm sure Kovu wouldn't do that to Kiara, he loves her enough to know when it's appropriate." She assured him.

"Well, I wouldn't put all your faith in their abstinence." A voice said behind them.

They both turned around and saw Timon and Pumbaa standing around.

"Timon what are you talking about Timon?" Nala asked.

"Well you know how kids are when they're in love; we left you two alone for 5 minutes and badda-bing badda-boom." He explained.

"I think it's different than that Timon." She said.

"Alright but, I warned you." He said.

"Warned them about what?" Pumbaa asked.

Just then Vitani came to them with a confused look on her face.

"Hey Vitani what's wrong?" Simba asked.

"Well you see, I was out hunting, and I found another lion in our territory and he claims that he knows you." She explained.

"Well then, bring him up and I'll see if he's telling the truth." He ordered.

"Right." She obeyed.

After a few minutes, she brought up a lion that was the same age as Simba and was pretty skinny for someone his age; he had a light brown mane and a little beard on his face.

"Simba?" He asked.

"Hofu?" Simba asked.

"In the flesh my friend." He stated.

"Oh my god, I haven't seen you in a long time." He said.

"How do you think I feel?" He asked.

"Hold on, Timon, Pumbaa come over here." Simba said.

"Well slather me in sauce and throw me to the hyenas. Hofu, how you been?" Timon asked.

"Timon, you sight for sore eyes." Hofu said.

"I haven't seen you since…actually, I'm not sure when the last time I saw you was." Pumbaa said trying to remember.

"Pumbaa, still as clueless as ever." He commented.

"Simba, who is this?" Nala asked.

Before Simba could explain Hofu to her, they heard a familiar voice calling out to them.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home." Kiara shouted.

They turned around and saw Kiara and Kovu walking up to them.

"There you two are, I've been looking everywhere for you." Nala said worried.

"Relax mom, Kovu and I were just at the watering hole." She explained.

"And nothing happened over there right?" Simba asked, giving Kovu and threatening look.

"No sir, nothing happened." Kovu said a little scared.

"Hey who's this?' Kiara asked noticing Hofu.

"Well your father was about to explain right Simba?" She asked.

"Yes, now everyone this is Hofu, he's an old friend to me and Timon and Pumbaa." He began to explain.

"How do you meet him?" Vitani asked.

"Now that's an interesting story." He answered.

_Flashback_

_A month before Simba went back to the Pride Lands, he was walking through the Oasis and he stopped by a tree to relax._

"_Man, what to do during a whole day of nothing?" He asked himself._

_As he was relaxing a twig fell on his head and he looked up to see a lion hanging by the branches._

"_What the hell?" He shouted._

"_Oh thank goodness you're here, can you be a sport and help me?" He asked._

"_How did you get up there?" Simba asked._

"_How about a little less questions and little more help me down." He shouted._

_Simba climbed up the tree and helped the lion down with no incident._

"_Thanks man, I don't how long I would have been stuck up there." He said._

"_Yeah no problem, by the way, my name's Simba." He introduced._

"_The name's Hofu." He said._

"_Where are you from?" Simba asked._

"_I'm from a small pride just outside the Oasis, but I don't think I'll be going back." He explained._

"_Why is that?" Simba asked._

"_I'll explain later, but right now, do you know where I can find a place to stay for the night?" Hofu asked._

"_Don't worry, you can stay with me and my friends for the night." He said._

"_Thanks man." _

_End._

"Well that was an interesting story." Kovu commented.

"So Simba, are you going to introduce me to your family?" He asked.

"Right, this is my wife Nala, my daughter Kiara, her husband Kovu and his sister Vitani." He said.

"Nice to meet you all." He said.

"So what brings you down here Hofu?" Nala asked.

"Actually that's thing, I got some news Simba, and it's not the best news in the world." Hofu stuttered to say.

"What is it?" He asked.

But, before Hofu could say anything, Zazu flew in clearly exhausted and a quite scared.

"Zazu what's wrong?" Kiara asked.

"Sire, I just found the lion who was killing the other animals, and he told me you give you a message." He explained.

"What is it?" Simba asked.

"He said his name was Makto and that he was coming back for the rematch." He said.

Once those words left his beak, Simba suddenly stiffened and the others looked at him and saw his eyes were filled with pure horror.

"Yeah, that's the news I wanted to give you…surprise." Hofu said.

"Simba, what's wrong?" Nala asked.

"This is bad." Simba said.

"What's bad, what's going on, and who the heck is Makto?" Kovu asked.

"Now that…is another story." Simba said with a grave look on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Explanation**

_Simba flashed is memory to the day when he first had the displeasure of meeting Makto. As memory serves, he was walking with Timon, Pumbaa and Hofu through the jungle heading towards the location of Hofu's pride. Apparently, Hofu explained that he could not go back to his pride because it is ruled over by a brutal lion that killed all those who opposed him. While on the way, Hofu is trying his best to talk Simba out of trying to take him down._

"_Simba listen to me, now I'm grateful that you housed me and all, and that you're trying to save my pride, but I can honestly say that if you do this, you're going to die a horrible death." He explained._

"_I don't care, from what you told me, this so called king needs to be stopped, I already failed one pride, and I'm not going to fail another." He exclaimed._

_Simba continued to walk, with a look of determination is eyes, while Hofu had a look of utter hopelessness on his face, just then Timon walked up next to him and gave him a reassuring pat on the back._

"_Relax Hofu, we got this under control, Simba can take care of himself." He said._

"_Haven't you been listening to me, the guys a freakin' maniac, he's going to destroy Simba in 5 seconds." He said._

_That really discouraged Timon; unfortunately he didn't get a chance to talk to Simba because they had already arrived at their destination. They stood at the top of a hill overlooking the pride; it was relatively small and like any other pride, was filled with mostly lionesses, all of whom have a very frighten look on their faces, and what they were looking at was a fight in the center, there were two lions circling each other, one was large and had a satisfied look on his face as if he was about to receive a gift, the other was smaller and looked like he was scared for his life. Then they went at each other, the larger lion tackled the other and bite down on his neck, he tried to get him off by clawing his face, but it was no use, a few moments later, his body stopped moving and in a swift motion, the large lion snapped his neck, then he looked around at the terrified lionesses._

"_That's another traitor dead; it's amazing that even though I continue to kill those who oppose me, you all still don't learn that no one can beat me." He explained._

_Simba and the others looked at him with horror; they couldn't believe how fast it took him to kill his opponent._

"_Is that him?" He asked._

"_Yep, that's Makto." Hofu said._

_Simba glared at Makto with disgust, he knew that a king who kills his people should not rule._

"_I'm going down there." He said._

_He tried to go but was stopped by the others._

"_Whoa Simba are you nuts, Makto just killed that guy without any problem, he's going to completely annihilate you." Hofu said._

"_I have to agree with him Simba, you can't take this guy." Timon tried to reason._

"_Don't do it Simba." Pumbaa begged._

"_Guys listen to me, if that maniac continues to rule, then that pride won't last long, I have to do this." He said with determination in his voice._

_Without another word being said, Simba runs down the hill towards Makto while his back is turned and was giving a lecture to the lionesses._

"_Now, just to make sure that no one else gets any ideas, I will ask you all, who will challenge me." He said with a smile._

"_I will." Simba said._

_Makto turned around to see where the voice came from and was surprised to see Simba standing there._

"_Really?" He asked._

"_Yes." He responded._

_Makto was still surprised that he just came out of nowhere and just challenges him._

"_And who may I ask are you?" He asked._

"_My name is Simba, and I'm here to stop you." He proclaimed._

_Makto took a good look at Simba and remained silent for a few moments, then he just broke down in laughter._

"_You're joking right?" He asked as he laughed._

"_No, I'm serious; I'm going stop you and free this pride." Simba said._

_Then Makto stopped laughing and his expression turned to annoyance._

"_Ok, listen Simba, I don't know if you heard, but I'm the king, and no one ever challenge me and lives to tell about it." He explained_

"_I don't care about who you are, what I do care about is that someone like you shouldn't be king of anything." Simba said._

_Makto could see that Simba wasn't going to back down, so he had to take care of him the old fashion way. He crouched into his fighting position and Simba did the same._

"_Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked._

"_Bring it on." Simba said._

_With that said, Makto ran towards Simba with sheer ferocity and pounced, but samba moved out of the way at the last second and dodged him, but that made Makto mad and he charged again, but this time he managed to grab Simba by his leg and pull him down, but then Simba kicked him in the face with his free leg. Makto took a second to pull himself together, but then Simba jumped and pushed him down to the ground and held him in place, but then he grabbed him by the mane and threw him off and then pinned him to the ground. He pressed him paw down on his throat and tried to choke him, but then Simba kicked him in the chest and he got off, then he began to repeatedly punch his face and then with a good punch he managed to knock Makto to the ground. Makto then slowly picked himself up and looked at Simba, who was just staring at him._

"_Well, what are you waiting for? Finish it?' He yelled._

"_No, that's not the way I do things." He said._

"_Then what?" He asked._

"_I'm going to give you a choice, either I spare your life and you walk away, or you can refuse and I can let these lionesses have some fun." He said._

_Makto looked around and saw all the lionesses glaring at him because they realized that he was vulnerable in his weakened state. He knew he had to take the other option, so he turned around and started leaving, but then he turned his head towards Simba._

"_You may have won this round Simba, but I swear that one day, I'm going to find you, and when I do, you're going to pay!" He exclaimed. _

_He then ran off into the jungle and disappeared. When he was gone the whole pride celebrated and thanked Simba for what he had done, then Hofu and the others came down and congratulated him._

"_I don't believe it; you beat Makto, thank you." Hofu said with a smile._

"_You're welcome, and now you can find a king who will rule properly." Simba explained._

"_Yeah, but the question is who, I mean Makto killed almost all of our males, so who's going to be king?" He wondered._

"_How about you Hofu." Simba said._

"_Me?" He asked._

"_Yeah, I mean, you seem to have all the best qualifications to rule, you're kind, fair and you don't seem to want to kill anyone." Simba explained._

"_I don't know Simba." He said._

"_Hey, you know as king you get any girl you want." Simba said._

"_What do you mean?"He asked._

_Simba twitched his head to the right and Hofu looked and saw a cute lioness who gave him a wink._

"_Ok I'll do it." He said fairly quickly._

The scene the switches back to Simba and the others at Pride rock and he was still scared about the news.

"I can't believe it." He said.

"Believe it, Makto is coming back and he's gotten stronger." Hofu explained.

"Well this is bad." Timon stated.

"Wait, so let me get this straight, a mad lion is coming here for revenge because you beat him in a fight a long time ago?" Kovu asked.

"Yes, are you just tuning in now?" Hofu asked.

"Simba, why haven't you told me about this?" Nala asked clearly upset.

"I didn't think it was important." Simba said.

"Of course it's important to explain that a killer is coming to take his revenge against you." Nala exclaimed.

"Listen, I just need to be alone right now." Simba said.

With that, he turned and ran, leaving a very confused Nala.

"Simba, SIMBA." She called after him.

She then turned towards the others.

"I'm going to go find him and see if we can work this out." She explained.

She then took off, leaving the others to think about the present situation.

"Now what?" Vitani asked.

"I'll tell you what, now Makto is going to come here, fight Simba and depending on how angry he is, he'll most likely rip his stomach open and strangle him with his guts." Hofu explained.

"Not if I have anything to say about." Kovu stated.

"What do you mean?" Pumbaa asked.

"I mean I'm going to find Makto, and force him out of the Pride Lands." He explained.

"Wait, Kovu don't." Kiara said trying to stop him.

"Yeah, He'll rip you apart for sure." Timon said.

"Don't worry you guys, I can handle this." He said.

Before the others could say anything, he bolted towards the direction that Makto was coming from and ran as fast as he could.

"You think he'll be okay?" Kiara asked.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Vitani said.

Hofu looked in the direction that Kovu ran in and with a grim face he said only one thing.

"He's dead!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Confrontation**

Simba sat in a secluded spot just behind pride rock; he just needed to be away from everything in order to think, Makto is getting closer, and he knew that he would have to fight in order to protect those he cares about. Although what he really upset about is that he disappointed Nala by not telling her about Makto sooner and now it might cost them their lives.

"Simba!" Nala called.

As soon as he heard his name being called, he knew he was in trouble; Nala was probably going to give him the third degree. He slowly turned towards her and she had a worried look on her face.

"Look Nala, I know what you're going to say…and you're right, I should have told you about Makto and now he's coming here to kill me and everyone else." He explained.

Nala just looked at him with a confused look on her face.

"Well, let me have it." He said.

He held his eyes closed, expecting a smack in the face, but nothing happened, just then he felt something hot and wet pressing against the side of his face, he opened his eyes to see her licking his cheek, which led him utterly confused.

"Nala?" He asked.

"Look Simba, I'm not mad that you didn't tell me about what happened. I mean, I'm upset, but I'm not mad." She explained.

"Really, so you're okay with it?" He asked.

"Well, I'm not okay about the fact that a bloodthirsty lion is coming here to take his revenge, but I am okay that you were honest about it." She explained.

Simba and Nala just stood there and thought about the current crisis and tried to think of a solution.

"Simba, I need to ask you something." Nala said.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Why didn't you tell me about Makto, or about everything else?" She asked.

Simba tensed when she asked him that, and he knew that he had to answer, he's been hiding it for too long.

"Look, when I saw you in the jungle, and I came back to beat Scar, I honestly didn't think that it was important. I figured that it was just a bad experience, I could forget, but his final words to me still echoed in my mind, and I thought that if I kept the truth away from you, I could protect you from the past that I hoped wouldn't come back to haunt me." He explained.

Nala looked at him with shock, realizing that the death of his father wasn't the only memory he was running from. She got closer to Simba and gently nuzzled his neck.

"Simba, thank you for telling me the truth, I had no idea about what you were dealing with. And I want you to know, that no matter how this turns out, we'll all be right behind you." She said.

"Thanks Nala, I sometimes forget how lucky I am to have someone like you here with me." He said.

They both nuzzled each other for an undetermined amount of time, and then they stopped.

"Let's get back and try to find a solution to this problem." Simba said.

Nala nodded and they both began walking back to the others.

Meanwhile back at Pride Rock, Hofu was still looking in the direction that Kovu had ran in to face Makto, although it has only been a few minutes since he left, he knew that this was bad.

"I'm telling you all this is bad." He said to the others.

"Don't worry Hofu; I'm sure Kovu is fine." Vitani said.

"Have you not been listening to a word I have said, Makto is a killer, a maniac, a monster, he's going to rip that kid apart." He explained.

"That would be something I would worry about." Timon mentioned.

Hofu looked and noticed that Kiara had a worried look on her face, and he knew that he wasn't inspiring confidence.

"Well, you know, maybe he hasn't met up with Makto yet, hey Timon and Pumbaa come here." He ordered.

"What do you need?" Timon asked.

"Listen, run after Kovu and see if you can stop him from killing himself." He said.

"Sure thing." Pumbaa answered.

With that, both the meerkat and warthog ran after their lion friend and Hofu walked over to the nervous Kiara.

"Kiara listen, I'm sure that Kovu is fine." He said trying to reassure her, even though he had a strong feeling that Kovu was I trouble.

"You think so?' She asked.

"I know so." He said, (he didn't think so).

Some miles away from Pride Rock, Kovu was running fiercely in a hope that he could stop Makto from reaching Pride Rock. He came across and stopped at a plateau surrounded by tall grass, he then sat there as if he was waiting for something. He looked around and kept his ears open, but nothing happened, as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard something coming from the grass, he then noticed russeling and he was getting a little afraid about what was coming at him. His fears were then realized when a large menacing lion jumped out of the grass and landed a few feet away from him and he was. Kovu was frightened by the sight of him, he was much bigger than he was, and he had a look on his face that told him that he will have no problem ripping him apart. He wanted to run, but he knew that had to stop him, to protect his friends and family, so he pushed his fear aside and stood his ground.

"Excuse me young man, you seem to be in my way." Makto stated.

"Yes I am." Kovu retorted.

Makto looked at him with a menacing stare; he couldn't really make out the situation, but somehow, seeing a young lion trying to be brave, reminded him of Simba, and that just made him angry.

"Listen kid, I'm going to do you a favor and kill you where you stand, but only you if you step aside and let me do what I came here to do." He said.

"Ok, now listen to me, I'm not going to move and you're going to leave, or otherwise, I'm going to have to teach you a lesson." He threatened.

"Really, and who are you to say that?" He asked.

"My names Kovu and I'm here to stop you from killing Simba." He said.

The second that he heard Simba's name, he nearly lost it, apparently it's not bad enough that Simba beat him, no this punk is trying to do the same, and well he's not going to let that happen.

"So you came here to stop me, from taking my bloody vengeance on the lion who humiliated me?" He asked.

"Exactly." He said.

"Okay kid; tell you what, because I'm such a nice guy, I'll let you take the first punch." He explained.

He then tuned his head slightly, exposing his cheek as if giving him an invitation.

"Come on, right here, as hard as you can." He said.

Kovu had a bad feeling about this, but he knew he couldn't take any chances. So he slowly approached Makto and then with all the strength he had, he whacked Makto right in the face. Makto then stumbled back and looked disoriented; Kovu then laughed thinking that he gained the upper hand, so he took this opportunity and began to punch him multiple times in the face and body and after a few minutes he stopped and Makto was doubled over in pain and coughing.

"Ha, not so tough now are you, I honestly don't see why Hofu is so afraid of you." He ranted.

But then the coughing slowly turned to laughter and it was starting to freak out Kovu, then Makto raised his head and he big smile on his face.

"What the?" Kovu said shocked.

"Got you, now if you're done, it's my turn." He said with an evil grin.

Before Kovu could react, Makto pounced him and began to viciously punch him in his face and then he used his teeth to grab him by the mane and threw him against a large rock and then began to claw every part of his body, taking some sort of sick joy in making his suffer. After a few minutes, Makto threw him away and watched as Kovu slowly tried to get up and saw how he was bruised and bloodied.

"Let this be a lesson to you; don't pick a fight that you know you're going to lose!" He said.

He then charged at him and gave a great big whack in the face which sent him flying and when he landed, he instantly passed out. Makto then just looked at him, determining whether or not he should live or die. Just then Timon and Pumbaa came out of the grass and were shocked to see Kovu and scared to see him, and he recognized them and Simba's friends.

"Hey, you two are Simba's stooges right?" He asked.

The both remained silent, but they nodded a yes and that made him smile.

"Good, take the kid back and run along to tell Simba that this is warning and a warm up. Now I'm ready for the main event, and that we can settle this at Claw Peak." He explained.

He then turned and left, leaving the very frightened Timon and Pumbaa and brutally beaten Kovu behind. As soon as he was gone, they both rushed over to their fallen comrade and checked for any sign of life.

"Is he alright?" Pumbaa asked.

"I don't know, let's get him back to Simba and see what we can do." Timon ordered.

Pumbaa then used his strength to lift Kovu and he carried him towards Pride Rock. As they left, Makto was looking at them and smiled, knowing that soon, he would get his revenge.


	4. Chapter 4

**Anger**

Hofu, Kiara, and Vitani were lying around Pride Rock, waiting for any sort of news about Kovu, Makto, or Simba, but there was nothing, and they were getting discouraged. Kiara was the most anxious of all of them, because this was matter concerned both her mate and her father. Hofu looked at her and knew what she was thinking and tried to comfort her.

"Look Kiara, I'm sure that Kovu is fine." Hofu said.

"How are you so sure, you said yourself that Makto was crazy and that he would do horrible things to him?" Kiara pointed out.

"True I said that, but I just thought of something." He said.

"And what is that exactly?" Vitani asked.

"Maybe if Kovu found him, Makto will think he's just a stupid kid and go easy on him." He said.

Surprising enough, that actually made the girls feel a little better, although they didn't like that he called Kovu stupid, but he had a point.

"Girls relax, I'm sure everything will work out." He said.

Just then, Zazu flew down and landed right next to them and he looked a little winded, and frightened.

"Ah, there you are Zazu." Hofu said getting up.

"What's Zazu doing here?" Kiara asked.

"Well, I got worried about Timon and Pumbaa, so I sent Zazu to watch over them." He explained.

"Yes, and I have some news." He said.

"What is it, did they find Kovu?" Kiara asked with anticipation.

"Yes they did, but there's something you should see." He said.

Everyone had a worried look on their face; this wasn't going to be good news.

"Zazu, what happened?" Kiara asked.

Zazu remained quiet and just looked at them, he always has a hard time breaking bad news to her, but she had to hear it.

"Well." He started.

Just then the scene cuts to the other lionesses watching in horror as Timon and Pumbaa carried the badly beaten Kovu towards them. Then Kiara, Hofu and Vitani came pushing through the crowed and were utterly shocked at what happened. Kiara was on the verge of tears seeing her mate in his current condition, he was bruised, he had cuts all over his body and the blood was flowing.

"KOVU!" She yelled.

"Set him down Pumbaa." Timon ordered.

Pumbaa then gently placed Kovu on the ground and they both instantly backed away to let Kiara get close to him and then started to cry into his chest. Meanwhile all the other lionesses were discussing about what to do.

"What do we do?"

"What's going on?"

"What happened to Kovu?"

There were dozens of questions; the whole group was engulfed in chattering, but then.

"Quiet!" Someone shouted.

Everyone stopped talking and they all turned to see who had yelled, and to their surprise, it was Rafiki. He slowly made his down the rock he was standing on and then stopped in the middle and looked at all of them.

"Now what is going on er?" He asked.

Everyone turned toward Kiara who stopped crying, although her eyes were still watering.

"Rafiki, it's Kovu, he fought a lion and we don't know what to do, we don't even know if he's alive!" She said.

Rafiki held his hand up his hand to signal her to stop talking, and she did.

"Don't worry, I will check." He said.

He then approached Kovu and then he placed his ear on Kovu's chest and he just stood there for a few moments. Kiara and the others were getting worried that Kovu might not make it. Then Rafiki lifted his head and looked at them.

"Well, how is he?" Hofu asked.

"He will live." He said.

With that, everyone let out a great big sigh of relief, but before they could celebrate they noticed Kovu stirring and then he suddenly opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but it was proving to be difficult.

"Kiara?" He asked.

"I'm here Kovu." She said running to him.

"I fought Makto, he was a monster, and I couldn't beat him." He explained.

"Don't strain yourself, you did your best." She said.

"I thought you said that he would go easy on him!" Vitani yelled at Hofu.

"Actually for Makto, this is going easy." He said.

Everyone was starting to panic, they knew that if what he did to Kovu wasn't his worst, and then they're all in trouble.

"Everyone calm down!" Rafiki shouted.

With that the lionesses calmed down and they looked and Rafiki to see what he had to say.

"Now, first things first. We need to get him to da den and I'll treat his wounds." He ordered.

With that, Pumbaa again picked up Kovu and managed to carry him all the way to the den. But, at the very moment, Simba and Nala came back from their discussion, and they were utterly shocked to see Kovu injured.

"What happened?" Simba asked.

"He went and got into a fight with Makto." Hofu said.

"What! Didn't anyone try to stop him?" He asked.

"We tried and failed and look what happened." He said referring to Kovu.

"No time for talking, we must get him treated now." Rafiki said.

All the Lionesses, including Kiara, Vitani, Timon, and Pumbaa went with him into the den to treat his wounds, leaving Simba, Hofu and Nala alone outside.

"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Simba shouted.

Both Nala and Hofu were shocked by Simba's sudden outburst, but they knew that he was angry for a reason.

"Simba calm down." Hofu said.

"Calm down! Calm down! Makto just severely hurt a member of my family, and you tell me to calm down!" He yelled.

"Look, I know you're angry, but you have to stay collected and think." Hofu said.

"I just can't believe it, I know Makto wants his revenge, but he has no right to harm my family to get it." He said.

"True, but you have to stay focused on the task at hand." He said.

Simba ignored what he said and just paced back and forth thinking of all of the ways he was going to kill Makto. Nala then walked over to Simba and tried to get his attention.

"Simba, Simba look at me." She said sternly.

Simba then stopped pacing and looked at her. She went over to him and nuzzled his neck to calm him down and it seemed to work because Simba started to slow his breathing.

"Listen, I know your angry, you have every right to be, but you have to calm down and think about your next move before you do anything okay." She said.

"You're right Nala, thank you." Simba said.

Simba then turned to Hofu.

"Hofu, I'm sorry I yelled at you, I was just angry." He apologized.

"Hey its okay, I would mad too if I was in your position, but what I'm more concerned about, is why he didn't kill Kovu." He thought to himself.

"We can answer that." Timon said as he and Pumbaa exited the den.

"How's Kovu?" Nala asked.

"Rafiki says he'll be fine, it'll take a while for him to fully heal, but he'll be fine." He said,

"That's a relief." Nala said with a smile.

"Yeah, but what do you mean you have the answer?" Hofu asked.

"Oh yeah, after Makto beat Kovu, he gave me and Pumbaa here a message."

"What was it?" Simba asked.

"Well it was, uh, oh boy." He said.

"What?" Nala asked.

"I forgot the message." Timon said.

"Wait I know. He said that Kovu was just a warning and a warm up, and that he wants to fight you and Claw Peak." Pumbaa said.

"Pumbaa, how did you remember?" Timon asked.

"I remember things better during a crisis." Pumbaa said.

"Claw Peak huh, well, I better meet him." Simba said.

He tried to walk, but he was then stopped by Timon.

"Whoa there Simba, you can't just go off and fight this maniac." he said.

"Yeah, besides, you saw what he did to Kovu, and he was just warming up, no telling what he'll do to you." Hofu said.

"Please don't go Simba." Nala begged.

"Look guys, I appreciate you looking out for me, but I have to do this, Makto needs to be stopped, and if it's a fight he wants, then it's a fight he'll get." He said.

Before any of them could say anything, he bolted toward Claw Peak and Makto. As he made his way off Pride Rock, he suddenly stopped and thought.

"Ah man, I can't do this." He said to himself.

"That's what you think." Rafiki said.

Simba turned in surprise to see Rafiki walking towards him.

"Oh hey Rafiki, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Kovu is resting, and I heard you talking to yourself." He said.

"Yeah, well, I'm basically scared for my life because I'm going to face a bloodthirsty lion who desperately wants to kill me." He said.

"Now dat is a problem." Rafiki said.

"What do I do?" He asked.

"Why ask me, it's your choice." He said.

"I'm afraid I'm going to lose this fight." He replied.

"Remember what I told you before, you can either run from your past, or learn from it." He said.

"Yeah, you practically beat it into my head." He said.

"Yes, but there is another way." He said.

"What is it?" He asked.

"You can face your past and finally get it out of your life and move on, I mean you learned that lesson when you faced Scar, now you must do it again." He explained.

"Yeah, you're right, if I want to live my life, I need to face my past and beat it." He said.

"Exactly." He responded.

"Thanks Rafiki." He said.

With that, Simba ran as fast as he could to face his past once and for all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Stand-off**

Nala stood in shock as she just saw her husband run off to fight a bloodthirsty lion who wants to kill him. She was frozen, but luckily Hofu was there to snap her out of it.

"Nala!" He shouted.

She got out of her stupor and shook her head.

"Sorry, I was just surprised that Simba just ran off to fight that maniac." She pointed out.

"I know what you mean, if it was up to me, I would have said don't do it. But Simba, he wants to end it." He explained.

"End it?" Nala asked.

"Yeah, after he beat Makto the last time, he told me that if he ever met Makto again, he knew he would either have convinced him to stop, or to take him down." He said.

"What? That's crazy; Simba would never kill out of anger." She said.

"Trust me, Simba knows what kind of lion Makto is, and if he needs to do the deed, then he will." He said.

"Maybe he can offer Makto mercy again and maybe he'll take it and leave." She explained.

"Oh no! I know Makto, and when he wants to kill, he will. They only thing I'm worried about is that this fight is going to go in the opposite direction." He explained.

"Opposite direction?" She asked.

"I mean that Makto kills Simba and then take over the Pride lands and rape every single one of the lionesses." He explained.

Nala just looked at him with a look of utter shock.

"What, I'm being as accurate as I can." He said.

"What's going on out here?" Kiara asked.

"You're father went to fight a demon with a good chance of dying." Hofu answered.

Both lionesses stared at him, this time of annoyance.

"Again, being as accurate as I can." He said.

"Do you think dad's going to be okay?" Kiara asked.

"I wouldn't put too much hope into it." Said an unknown voice.

Everyone turned to see where the voice came from, and to their surprise, it was Kovu. He limped a little out of the cave and everyone could see just how bad is injuries are, he has scratches all over his body, and he black eye and bruises everywhere.

"Kovu." Kiara said.

Kovu tried to move again, but his wounds wouldn't allow it, he almost fell over, but luckily Kiara managed to get next to him and act as a support.

"I've see how he fights, he's a monster. If Simba wants any hope of beating him, he would need to be as brutal as he is, although I don't think that's possible." He explained.

"What are you all talking about?" Timon asked.

"Simba went off to fight Makto." Hofu said.

"Oh boy he's doom." Pumbaa said.

"Relax all of you, now I'm sure Simba can handle this." Nala said trying to be positive.

"Nala would you focus, Simba is going to fight the devil in fur in a blood match and odds are he's going to get killed!" Hofu said.

"Yeah, and if he was just going easy on me, then he's really in trouble." Kovu pointed out.

Nala looked at them, trying to decipher the situation, and then it hit her like a ton of bricks, the love of her life is out there and can die unless he gets help.

"Alright everyone let's go!" She ordered.

"Right, we need to help Simba." Hofu said.

"I'm with you guys." Kiara said.

"I'm coming too." Kovu said.

Kiara tried to tell Kovu that he wasn't strong enough, but she knew that nothing she said would make him back down, so she smiled and nuzzled him a little.

"I'll help too." Pumbaa said.

"You bet that I'm coming." Timon said.

"Good, now Timon and Pumbaa go get Vitani and the other lionesses, we're heading for Claw Peak." Nala said.

"We're on it." He said.

With that, the others ran off and Timon and Pumbaa ran over a ledge overlooking Vitani and the lionesses.

"Timon, Pumbaa, what's going on?" Vitani asked.

"No time to explain, just get the others and run to Claw Peak, Simba's in trouble." He said.

As they left, Vitani turned towards the others who had a worried look on their faces.

"Alright ladies, let's move." She said.

Then all of them got up and ran after the others, as they headed to Simba's aid in his final match against a force of evil. The scene then shifts to Claw Peak, a spot located just beyond the Pride Lands, it is where many animals come to settle their disputes, and the their blood still stains the rocks. The battle ground is a large cliff that overlooks a fairly deep canyon. Simba walked onto to the blood stained ground and waited for Makto; then after a few minutes, he finally showed up, and he looked more menacing than ever. He looked at Makto, and he looked back at him with a blood thirst in his eyes.

"Well, I see that you got my invitation." He said.

"Yes I did." He responded.

He got angry because of what Kovu looked like after he tried to fight him, and he really didn't like the fact that he called it an invitation.

"Well I hope you'll put up a better fight than that stupid kid." He said.

"That 'stupid kid' is my son in law." He retorted.

"Oh my, well if I knew that, then I would have killed him just for the heck of it." Makto mocked.

"Listen Makto, you're vengeance is towards me there's no reason to take it out on my family." Simba said.

"Oh and speaking of your family, I hear you have a wife and a daughter now, maybe when I'm done with you, I can pay them both a little visit." He said with a sinister smile.

"Makto if you go anywhere near, if you even touch one of them, I swear I will rip you apart." Simba yelled.

"Oh I'm so scared." He said.

"Look, we came here to fight, then let's fight." He demanded.

"Easy there Simba. I feel like that you're not happy to see me." He said.

"I'm as happy to see you as I would be to see my uncle Scar." Simba said.

"Oh how nice." He joked.

"That wasn't exactly a compliment." He said.

"Either way, I'm going to make you pay for what you did." He said.

"What I did, was stop a tyrant and a murderer." Simba said.

"Well I assure you that I won't go down as easy as last time." Makto said.

"Then come on, I'm going to finish what I started." He said.

"Let's end this." Makto said.

"Right here, right now." Simba said.

Both of them got into fighting position and got ready for the blood match to end it all!


	6. Chapter 6

**Vengeance **

Simba and Makto circled each other for what seemed like forever. They looked into each other's eyes and all that was seen was pure hatred and anger, these two really wanted to kill each other.

"What are you waiting for?" Makto asked.

"Just waiting for the first move." Simba responded.

"Well go ahead." He said.

"Be my guess." He said.

"I insist." Makto said getting a little annoyed.

"Ladies first." Simba said with a smirk.

That little comment made Makto really angry, he growled and then he lunged at Simba but he was quick and managed to dodge him, unfortunately Makto quickly gave him a back hand to the face and then another punch which knocked Simba to the ground. Simba quickly picked himself up and then charged at Makto and with a burst of strength, he threw him several feet away, but then Makto got back up and charge him and gave him a hard swipe in the chin. But then Simba tackled Makto with all his might and managed to pin him the ground but Makto gave him a monster head butt and knock him off. Then duplicating Simba's action he tackled Simba and pinned him to the ground and began to viciously claw him in the face, but Simba managed to use his hind legs and kicked him off. He stood up and he has various bleeding claw marks on his face.

"Might I add that you look so much better now." Makto said.

Simba then charged at him again and this time, he grabbed him by the back with his fangs and flipped him onto his back and then kicked him as hard as he could with his leg. That made Makto's mouth bleed, but it also made him angrier.

"I'm going to kill you!" He shouted.

"I dare you to try." Simba said.

Makto then jumped and landed on Simba's back and pin him to the ground, and then he used his mouth to grab him by his leg and swung him to a nearby rock, which left some blood on the rock. Simba got back up and taking his claws, started tearing at Makto with brutality, but then Makto punched him in the gut and Simba stumbled back and got a good look at him, he was covered with bloody scratches.

"I must admit, you're good." Makto said.

Simba just looked at him while breathing heavily.

"But not good enough!" He said.

Makto then attacked and then he bites down hard on Simba's arm, and Simba released a roar of agony and the blood began to flow. Then he used his fangs and bites down on Makto's mane and managed to yank him off and through him a feet away, he then looked at the bleeding bite mark on his arm and then looked back at Makto to see him charging. He tried to move, but Makto managed to grab him by the tail and toss him away and then he kicked Simba while he was down, but Simba still got back up.

"You're tough, but that won't save you." He said.

"The only one who's going to need saving is you!" Simba yelled.

Both lions charge at each other with blind fury and then they pelted each other with a barrage of scratches, bites, punches and kicks, their claws with stained red with blood and they both were taking heavy damage. After a few minutes they both back away from each other, they both covered with blood and wounds and a look of anger and adrenaline.

"I'm surprised you're lasting this long." Makto said.

"A lot of people underestimated me." Simba said.

"Why don't you just do yourself a favor and give up?" He asked.

"Because I know that if I don't stop you, then nothing will." He responded.

Both of them were ready to make another move, but then out of nowhere.

"STOP!" Nala shouted.

Simba and Makto looked up and saw Nala, Hofu, Kiara, Kovu, Timon and Pumbaa, Zazu, Vitani and all the lionesses of the Pride Lands, standing at the top of a large rock.

"What are you all doing here?" Simba yelled.

"We here to make sure you don't go crazy." Timon responded.

"What?" He asked.

"Simba, don't kill Makto, you'll become as bad as him." Nala explained.

"She's right Simba, you have to stop." Hofu said.

"You guys don't understand, if I don't stop him, he's just going to keep on killing." Simba explained.

"Maybe you can find a way stop him without killing him?" Kiara asked.

"I beg you sir, don't stoop down to his level." Zazu yelled.

"Their right Simba, you can't be like him." Kovu said.

"Kovu, look at what he did to you." Simba said.

"I know, but I'll be fine, but what you're about to do will end with disaster." Kovu said.

Simba remained silent and thought about what they said, maybe they were right, and maybe there was a way to end this without taking Makto's life. But, before he could respond, they all heard laughter coming from Makto.

"Oh isn't that sentimental, you're family and friends coming down here to stop you from killing me because they care. Well big surprise, what you just gave us was an audience to watch you die, and by the end of today, this little party is going to become a funeral." He explained.

"We don't have to end it like this Makto, we can work something out." Simba reasoned.

"Too late! Now where was I? Ah yes!" he said.

He charged at Simba and punched him repeatedly and then he gave him a big smack in the face and he went flying. The others tried to intervene, but Simba stopped them.

"No, I need to finish this." Simba yelled.

He and Makto continued to engage each other in combat, but it seemed that Makto's sheer brutality gave him an advantage. He overpowered Simba and began to viciously attack him with all his might. After what seemed like hours of assault, he finally let up, and Simba stumbled backwards.

"You know Simba, I admire the fact you had the courage to face me again, but now I'm going to have to kill you." He said.

He unsheathed his claws and ran up to Simba as fast as he could.

"Say goodbye!" He shouted.

He then delivered a powerful strike with his paw to Simba's face. Blood flew out of his mouth and then Simba fell to the ground and he laid there and stopped breathing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Endgame**

Everyone looked is utter shock and horror at the sight of Simba's seemingly lifeless body. Nala and the others were tearing up at the lost of a friend and family member, but she was the most devastated by the fact that the love of her life is dead and gone. Kiara cried into Kovu's shoulder and he did his best to console her, Timon and Pumbaa were shocked that their friend was gone; Zazu covered his eyes with his wing and cried and Hofu was speechless, he knew that he could have stopped this, but he didn't. Makto stood their without moving, just looking at Simba, he knew he had won, and then he just shouted with glee.

"YES, FINALLY, I KILLED SIMBA!" He shouted.

"I just can't believe it." Kovu said.

"He's gone, he's really gone." Hofu said.

"No, it can't be." Nala said.

"Poor Simba, he had his whole life ahead of him." Timon said.

"I promised his father I would look after him, and I failed." Zazu said.

Makto just continued to gloat about his victory, he laughed and he yelled for everyone to hear.

"How do you like me now?" He shouted.

Vitani and all the other lionesses looked at Makto with anger and disgust for what he did.

"He killed Simba, and he has the nerve to gloat about it in front of us." She said.

"Well what can we do?" Pumbaa asked.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to tear him apart!" Nala said.

"I'm with you mom." Kiara said.

Makto looked at all of them, who were giving him the death glare, and he knew what that meant.

"What are you all looking at? Yeah that's right, I killed your king, what are you all going to do about it?" He taunted.

Before Nala could react, Hofu just stepped up and yelled.

"I'm going to rip in half." He yelled.

He then ran down the rock towards Makto and charged at him, but Makto was stronger and knocked him on his back and was about to claw at him. But then Zazu flew into his face and began to peck and his face.

"Let's get him!" Timon shouted.

He and Pumbaa charged and then Nala, Kiara and Kovu followed.

"You heard him girls, let's do this!" Vitani said to the other lionesses.

They all followed her down the rock and soon the whole pride was one Makto, but he didn't flinch.

"Come on!" He said as an invitation.

Timon jumped on top of his head and began pulling his ears, that made him angry, he reached up and grabbed him and was about to bite his head off, but then he looked up and Pumbaa was in front of him.

"Let me show you why they call me Mr. Pig!" He said.

He then charged and rammed Makto right in the gut and he dropped Timon, but then he got back up and smacked them both and sent them flying.

"Is that the best you can do?" He asked.

"Not even close." Vitani yelled from behind.

Vitani jumped at Makto bit down on his back, but he bucked her off like and bronco and then he kicked her in the face. But he turned and saw all the other lionesses coming at him. They all tackled on him and began biting, but he threw them all off and he punched, clawed and kicked all of them, but then Kiara came out of nowhere clawed him in the face, but he got angry and smacked her down and was about to strike, but then Kovu came in and tackled him, but he kicked him off.

"Alright kid, I beat you once and you haven't learned anything, now I'm going to have to kill you." He said.

But luckily Hofu got back up and rammed into him and knock him over, but then he grabbed him the neck and threw him several feet away, but then Zazu swooped down again and acted as distraction, but Makto managed to grab him and threw him to Hofu and they both were knocked down.

"This is pathetic, Simba put up more of a fight than you guys." He said.

"Don't you dare talk about Simba!" Nala shouted.

She ran up to him and managed to smack him several times in the face, but then he punched her and she went down, and then he pinned her down to prevent her from moving.

"You know, I was to get to know you better after this, and maybe have some fun, but after that little stunt you pulled, I'm going to do you a favor and let you join Simba." He said.

He unsheathed his claws and looked down at Nala and saw the fear in her eyes and found it amusing. But then, as if it was an act of a higher power, Simba's eyes shot open, and he picked his head up and looked around and saw all of his friends and family on the ground in pain, but he focused his attention to Nala, who was seconds from death, he had to stop him, he then managed to get up.

"Say hello to Simba for me." Makto said as he raised his claws.

"Why don't you tell me yourself?" Simba said.

Makto froze and slowly turned around and was shocked to see Simba standing right there alive. Everyone looked and they were equally shocked to see Simba alive.

"Dad?" Kiara said.

"Unbelievable." Kovu said.

"Incredible." Hofu said.

Simba looked at all of them and then he looked back at Makto with intensity.

"Alright, first off, get your claws off my wife." He said.

Makto then looked at him with the same level of intensity.

"Sure, I was getting bored anyway." He said.

He released Nala and slowly approached Simba and stared at him.

"Well I see I'm going to have to kill you again." He said.

"Well let me tell you that that's not going to be easy." Simba retorted.

"This should be fun." He said.

Makto lunged at Simba and he did the same and they both tackled each other and they began to roll towards the ledge of the cliff, but they didn't notice and they both fell over and were banging against the side of rocks and then both landed at the bottom…hard. They both stumbled back up and then they went right back to fighting, but the fight was proving to be a stalemate and every time one stuck, the other struck just as hard, they soon backed off from each other and they were both bleeding and breathing heavily and Makto was furious.

"Why won't you die?" He shouted.

"Because I have something to fight for, and I'm going to win this fight." He said.

Makto then lost his grip on sanity and charged at Simba with blind rage and Simba charged at him as well. When they both mere inches from each other, they raised their claws and were ready to strike, but when Makto went in for the kill, Simba moved a few centimeters away, and he missed, but before he could react, Simba brought down his claw and the last thing Makto saw was Simba's face and then his vision went black as Simba struck him all his might in his face. Makto fell to the ground and ceased moving and breathing, and Simba knew he was dead because of the trail of blood pouring from his head onto the ground. Simba looked at him and knew that it was over, and he won, and with that he tilted his head to the sky and let out a roar of victory, and then he began to climb back up. Back at the top, everyone was waiting for what might happen, they heard a roar, but were unsure if it was Simba or Makto.

"Who do you think one?" Hofu asked.

"Not sure, but be ready for whoever comes back up." Nala said.

All the lionesses got into fighting position and waited, and then they all heard the sound of someone coming up.

"Get ready." She ordered.

Just then a bloodied paw grabbed to the ledge and everyone was afraid that it was Makto, but then the rest of the unknown figure came up, and to their surprise and shock, it was Simba. He was covered in blood, but he was smiling, he was happy to see them all, and they were happy to see him. Nala was the first to approach him, and they both just stared at each other for what seemed like forever.

"Hey." He said breaking the silence.

Nala then instantly placed her head to his neck and began to nuzzle him lovingly and she didn't care that his mane was stained in blood; she continued to nuzzle him because she thought she was never going to see him again.

"I thought you were dead." She said in tears.

"Well, I'm here now, and I'm never leaving again.' He said.

"I love you." She said.

"I love you too." He replied.

They both then turned around and saw the others and then they all instantly ran up to him and Kiara gave him a quick nuzzle.

"Love you dad." She said.

"I know." He said.

"Glad you're not dead." Kovu said.

"Thanks." He said.

"I knew you would win." Timon said.

"No you didn't Timon." Pumbaa said.

"Alright fine, but I still had faith." He said.

"Thanks you guys." Simba replied.

"Well you stopped Makto again, you are something else." Hofu said.

"Hey you helped." He said.

"You are incredible." Vitani said.

"That's what I've heard." Simba said.

Everyone continued to thank Simba for what he did to protect the Pride Lands.


	8. Chapter 8

**Epilogue**

Simba and Nala sat down next to each other and marveled at the sun setting on the Pride Lands. Simba was happy because he had finally managed to stop Makto and save his home from untold horror. His wounds were healing slowly but nicely, at this point they were just scars that will fade away in time.

"Now that was an ordeal." Nala pointed out.

"Yeah, but at least it's all over." He said.

They both nuzzled each other lovingly but were then interrupted by a familiar voice.

"You go that right." Hofu said.

"What are you still doing here; I thought you left after the fight?" Simba asked.

"I was making sure that you guys are doing all right." He said.

"We're doing fine, thank you for asking." Nala said.

"Well I'm glad for you all." He said.

Just then Kiara and Kovu came walking by and we can see that Kovu's injuries were healing nicely.

"What are you all doing?" Kiara asked.

"We were just admiring the sunset." Simba said.

"Well we were going to meet Timon, Pumbaa, Vitani and the other lionesses at the watering hole to celebrate, you guys want to join us?" Kovu asked.

"Yeah sure, we'll be there later." Simba said.

Both Kovu and Kiara left them alone and after a few moments, Hofu spoke up.

"Well, I'm going to head back to my pride, the wife doesn't like it when I'm gone too long." He said.

"Ok, well, it's been nice seeing you again." Simba said.

"Yeah, you guys too." Hofu said.

He turned to leave, but before he got far, Nala stopped him.

"Hey Hofu one question, what else did Simba do that he didn't tell us about?" Nala asked.

Hofu went wide eyed and looked at Simba, who was giving him a 'don't you tell her' nod.

"Ah nothing, I got to go, bye." Hofu said and then bolted.

"Don't worry about it, let's enjoy the sunset." Simba said.

They both sat close to each other and watch the sunset and then the nuzzled each other and got up and left to join the others.


End file.
